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Cyclorana maini

Main's Frog

Conservation Status

EPBC:

Unlisted

IUCN:

Least Concern

Calling Period

Possible
Yes
Peak
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Description

A medium-sized frog reaching up to nearly 5 cm in body length. It has a light brown or red-brown back, with darker brown or olive-green patches and often a thin cream-coloured longitudinal stripe along the middle. There is also a horizontal stripe behind the eyes. There is a dark brown stripe from the tip of the snout to the arm, sometimes extending to the side. The belly is white, and the male has a grey throat. The pupil is horizontal, and the iris is gold. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are one-third webbed, both without discs.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as clusters or strings among vegetation under the surface of the water in flooded ditches, temporary ponds, creek pools, and river pools. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 8 cm, and are grey-gold, brown, or grey-white in colour. They often swim in large schools at all depths of water bodies, and may take less than one month to develop into frogs. Breeds during summer after heavy rain.

Similar Species

Looks similar to the many Cyclorana species in its distribution. Looks most similar to Cyclorana brevipes and Cyclorana cultripes, but has a different call and mostly different distribution to Cyclorana brevipes, while Cyclorana maini generally lacks a wide cream-coloured stripe behind the eyes.

Images

Photo: Stephen Mahony

Photo: Jordan Vos

Photo: Stephen Mahony

Calls

By: Dane Trembath

By: Gayle McGuirk

Distribution

Found in central WA, the NT, northern SA, and far western QLD.

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